So… today, my baby turned FIVE. I think that means he’s not a baby anymore.
Here he is rocking the fauxhawk. It’s his favorite hairdo. The other day, he was refusing to come to the gym with me, but when I told him he could wear a fauxhawk to the gym, he suddenly was excited to go. He usually plays with his hair, but when it’s all gelled and fancy, he leaves it alone. So prissy. 
The kid looooves cold cereal. In his ideal day, he would have first breakfast upon waking up, second breakfast about an hour later, early lunch around 11, lunch around noon, snack at 3, and dinner at 5:30. Cold cereal at all meals, of course. Occasionally I can talk him into choosing a peanut butter sandwich or some macaroni and cheese, but those are definitely second-choice meals for him. 
Yesterday, at second-breakfast, I pulled out the camera and took a bunch of pics of his last day as a four-year old.
This kid is not the typical photographer’s child (who is so sick of having his picture taken and runs when I pull out the camera). Maybe because in the last few years I’ve filled that creative need by working in my business, so I don’t pull out the camera daily anymore. When I do start taking pictures, he doesn’t want me to stop. Take this one, mom…
And this one!
One thing that bums me out is in addition to all his firsts, I’m kind of tracking all of his lasts… because as my youngest, he’s the last one to hit all the milestones. Last baby. Last one to walk. Last diaper. Last preschooler. Last one home with me before they’re all in school and I’m left to fend for myself. It makes me all sentimental. This month, I’m thinking, it’s my last month to have one kid with me all day. I’ve started calling him my “assistant.” He comes with me everywhere. It’s much easier than having four of them with me all the time, easier than having a toddler destroying everything in his wake… it’s like the dessert at the end of a big meal.
He starts kindergarten next fall. So glad I’ll still have a lunch buddy, and hopefully it will ease me into this school thing, and I won’t fall apart when he starts going to school all day (although, really, all day is only until 2:15, I imagine I’ll probably really enjoy that stage a lot, and I need to stop being a baby!) 
On the other hand, it feels SO good to be on this final stretch! Being a stay-at-home mom has been the most difficult and rewarding job in the world. Some days, I was dying for someplace to go, something else to do. I had my first baby almost 12 years ago and it was a big change… we had no money, Dave and I were both students, but somehow we made it work. I always knew I wanted to be here, be a part of their lives, to be the one they were attached to and needed. Sometimes their need was overwhelming and suffocating. But I sure love these little buggers, so it was worth it. I know this is not an option for so many people (and that staying home with kids is not necessarily the best for everyone) so I feel lucky that I have been around so much for the first five years for each of my kids. And now, in the home stretch (yes, I know they’re not out of the house and off to college, but still, it’s a big step), I feel kind of victorious. Like I’ve accomplished something huge that I’m super proud of.
Wow. Ok. I made that all about me.
by shannon
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